what is exeter to you?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>i came into exeter, not knowing about the prestige until i got there, and after a year, i've discovered many sides of the institution, surprised by the good and the bad. a lot of things i heard about exeter since seem a little funny to me, and my question for the good people of CC is what kind of school do you think exeter is? what are the general ideas you have about it? what are the pros and cons, and what led you to choose to apply/not apply/attend/not attend?</p>

<p>just curious, maybe learn more about my school, maybe dispel a myth or two, and find out how the school can improve ^.^</p>

<p>feel free to speak openly, honestly! though please no bickering, let's just hear people's thoughts first</p>

<p>let's keep it civil! ^.^</p>

2

<p>To me, Phillips Exeter Academy is a prestigious and excellent prepatory school with a reputation for outstanding academics, extracurricular activities, and volunteer service, as well as unusually high Ivy-placement college metriculation.</p>

<p>I was admitted for the ninth grade 2007-2008 class. I decided not to go for a few reasons (in order of importance from least to greatest): 1) I really like the Harkness method for the arts, but I didn't like it as much for the sciences 2) When I was visiting the dorms at Exeter, I really didn't like them. They were big, kind of messy, and I didn't really like the atmosphere. 3) When I was at Andover, I really felt like I belonged there. I met a kid or two more that I thought I could be friends with at Milton, and that it was a bit warmer there, but at Andover, I truly felt I belonged. 4) It started snowing while I was at Andover.</p>

3

<p>To me it's clearly the most over rated prep. It is the only of the top prep schools I know many from who hated it. Other than the science building I find the campus ugly. The location is awful. Dress code. Yuck! Sorry Exonians!</p>

<p>I wanted a top school but it was by far my last choice.</p>

<p>Also, lots of schools use Harkness, that Exeter has some lock on it is not true.</p>

4

<p>Exeter was my favorite school as an adult, faculty spouse. I loved the town, full of history; the river, the library, the interesting adults and the motivated students. The weather was a little cold though.</p>

5

<p>As compared to where?</p>

6

<p>The Math program is by far the best in America--Zuming Feng is a genius. The way the school teaches problem solving just makes sense and really teaches everyone to approach math as an art and not a set of memorized equations. This begets smarter math applicants which in turn begets a smarter student body which just adds to everyones benefit.</p>

<p>Phelps is breath taking--love the whale skeleton.</p>

<p>The outdoor track is too. Great material. (The indoor track though....not so much....)</p>

<p>The school in general just seems so breathtakingly elite. The austere brick to the phenomenal academics, the professionalism of Harkness, the dress code and unified sense of regality.</p>

7

<p>Exeter seems particularly intellectual to me. An open discussion of all topics as opposed to simply teaching facts is very appealing to me.</p>

<p>-The town is full of history, esp. political. It's a very quaint town, without trying to be quaint like many others today. It seems like one of the last old New England towns left.
-I loved how politics were a huge part of the school.. the presidential candidates come to Exeter every year. That's pretty damn cool.. few schools can boast that they're one of the first stops for a candidate's campaign.. says a lot about the importance of the school.
-More traditional.. I wanted an old school prep experience.. I like coat/tie (though I'm thankful I'm not the one who will be restricted by it), etc.. it seems like one of the last really traditional schools left, yet it's not hindered by its "old school" status.. it has changed with the time gracefully..
-Superior management skills. The Admissions staff was extremely organized... of course every school was, but I just found their skills absolutely superior. I was notified of everything on time, they were polite, and spent hours directing me towards academy officials for me to talk to about little, trivial concerns I had. And a quick look at their finances shows this as well.. exeter was the only prep school on that charity site with a 4 star (out of 4) rating for financial management skills..all of the others got 2 and 3.
-My interviewer had nothing to hide. She let me know everything -- good and bad -- and I was very impressed. She was casual, laid back, funny, and wasn't too careful about what she let me know. All others were the complete opposite... it seemed to me like they didn't want to let me know many things about their experience.
-Exeter didn't put on a show in admissions.. it sort of seemed to me like they were very comfortable and confident in their school's ability to sell itself.<br>
- Superior girls xcountry and crew teams with well respected coaches.
- Crew facilities closer than other schools
- Library with virtually limitless resources
- People gave more money to Exeter..they must feel the same way I do about the school to give so much to it... it's the richest one (I think it has hit $1 bil by now), and like $200 mil ahead of its closest competitor, Andover, who seems to spend more on fund raising and whatnot (esp. with that "campaign andover" or w/e). It just seems like people really just KNOW it's a great school worthy of their money, and that no one needs to prove anything to them.
- sports instruction available in all sports, as opposed to just varsiy/JV.. now I can learn crew in the fall and try out in the spring
the problem solving taught in math class... math isn't my best subject, but i'm confident that i will learn to appreciate it more.. and learn more through hands on work..
- Harkness in every classroom. This is prob the best selling point.. I mean, discussion in every class room. It seemed like exploration and discussion ruled over pedantry.... this is just what I want out of a school.
- Amazing classes.. West African Drumming, Why Are Poor Nations Poor.... amazing.
- I liked how many of the alumni were doing a lot of public service jobs.. lots of politicians, lawyers, people who open up schools in Africa, etc... as opposed to movie stars and socialites, which they have, but the non sibi spirit seemed very mush prevalent, even 50 years after graduation.
- Class transition schedules which made sense.. their schedules accommodate students from all academic backgrounds (ie, kids who have taken half a year of trig as opposed to a full year).. it seems like they really made an effort to help students adjust, as opposed to you know, accept them, hand em a generic schedule of credit requirements and hope for the best
-great balance between thorough credit requirements and room to explore the many classes.. perfect balance.
- Gosh, every staff member I talked to was so nice. I mean, just 2 weeks ago, a math teacher there called me to talk to me about studying math on my own. She called me on her off hours from home, and just took 30 minutes to help me understand the cautions.. on her own time, just out of concern. And I called the college counseling office a while ago to talk about new uppers' concerns for college admissions, and they were all so nice and took so much time to help me.
- wide selection of volunteering opportunities.. not just the soup kitchen, etc., they had a LOT
- Close to the beach (surfing and sailing club)... couldn't find any other NE school this involved with the beach other than tabor (applied) and st. george's (off my list for many reasons)
- Yet close to the mountains (skiing).. the best of both worlds
- I sense a great sense of old world intellectualism and.. I don't know, sort of deep appreciation for intellectuality and the arts.. the old professors and traditional style... the old brick, grand buildings.. the dignified staff and noblesse oblige and... I don't know, I just love it. It reminds me of my grandfathers!</p>

<p>In sum, Exeter seems to me like a school with limitless resources and who doesn't need to worry about impressing anyone. Just a great school in every aspect.. everything I wanted (discussion, public service, great crew/xcountry teams, proximity to beach, an authentic NE town that would be fun to wander around in, more resources than I could ever need, amazing classes that pertain to my specific intellectual interests, etc etc etc etc.......). After I thought about it for a few minutes, the choice was clear.</p>

8

<p>bravo, blair! articulate and most definitely comprehensive ^.^</p>

<p>collegekid, it is very true that a large percentage of exeter kids... are unhappy with the school, but that's mainly because they were not motivated to attend the school themselves... or the school just does not fit them, but they refuse to leave. anyway, what do you think about the academic program?</p>

<p>lol in terms of dress code.... very lax imho
doesn't restrict anyone in any way [or at least, doesn't have to]</p>

9

<p>Can any current Exies comment on the workload? Is it really as crushing as everyone makes it out to be?</p>

10

<p>I used to stereotype it as a grind school with great academics, but with kids who were extremely stressed out and burnt out by high school. However, I hope this happens to none of the kids here who are going, and I don't think it will. I don't necessarily think I'm right, so don't flame me. I'm definitely not all right. But that's how it's (sometimes) been portrayed around here.</p>

11

<p>i like the idea of the harkness table and the academic rigor but i have a big problem with the administration because even though i submitted all my application material on time, i had an off-campus interview and the school claimed they didn't receive any of the information my interviewer sent them and as a result, i didn't get a decision on march 10th.</p>

<p>but i guess such things happen and you just have to live with it. im going to andover this fall and i'm pretty psyched about that</p>

12

<p>I'm an Andover kid, so everything I say hereafter is laced with bias.</p>

<p>Exeter frightens me. I was accepted there too and I went to go visit the school in April; my God, it seemed so serious. Yes, prep school is serious business, but I felt suffocated by the gravity of everything I encountered there. Austere is definitely the word. My tour guide seemed stressed out, busy, unable to pay attention to me because she was thinking about the Physics test she had that day. I don't blame her in the least now that I know what prep school is like, but it wasn't the best first impression...</p>

<p>I continue to think of Exeter as beautiful but sad. The town was nice, though it seemed to be crashing into the school--that particularly worried my parents; in the classes I sat in on, the ideas coming from the students were brilliant, but the students themselves seemed cold and reserved; its "old world intellectualism" seemed to me like a reprimand. I felt constantly condescended to; I know I would have developed some sort of severe inferiority complex at Exeter and a few months in, I would have commenced mourning the death of my social life. </p>

<p>I'm not at all affected by "grass is greener" syndrome; there is no greener grass in the world than the grass on the Great Lawn. It's definitely on steroids.</p>

<p>Exeter, to me, sounds like a school that focuses heavily on math and science. Bear in mind that I don't know what I'm talking about, but that's what I'm sensing. Also, the rules seem to be too strict and the workload... hellish. I mean, whatever, Andover's workload is murderous, but when we're not working we're having a good time, and our rules are ridiculously lax. It's fantastical, actually. :) </p>

<p>Hmm.... essay much? I'll stop.</p>

<p>Anyway, those are my Phillipian thoughts on Exeter. I am going to go stare at Andover's bright blue clock now and think of Smurfs.</p>

13

<p>PS: Blair, I have to respectfully disagree with your statements about Andover and donations. 95% of Andover alumni donate money to the school. Fund-raising alone doesn't necessarily make a school more worthy... there's about a six million dollar difference between Andover and Exeter's respective endowments. In my opinion, $6 million cannot possibly make a difference in superiority. Saying that it can is akin to saying that your parents' love can be measured by how many presents you get for your birthday. </p>

<p>Sigh. Sorry. I'm a debater. I just do this sometimes. Gotta defend what you love, you know?</p>

14

<p>hmm my comments on a few of these issues... heh i'm in kind of a talkative mood, so please bear with me if you can...</p>

<p>lol well regarding the academic rigors... to each his own, i think.
there are those who are not trying to get 'highest honors', who do not give a second though to the grades they receive but rather live their days to the fullest.... while they are few, they are as happy as any highschooler could be</p>

<p>then, there are those who attend exeter b/c of the prestige, and/or because of their parents.... they despise the school, and yet they persist and attend for ridiculous reasons... very unhappy beings, they are a bit more prevalent, but still very few</p>

<p>then, there are the motivated, the curious, the eager-to-learn, passionate students, who care about learning, and are happy to be simply learning, without giving a second thought to grades... also, very few</p>

<p>there are those who care about the grades, and just the grades, and work their hearts out, and they will end up with the best of grades, satisfied... but unhappy.</p>

<p>but of course, the majority of the school belong to the shades of gray, somewhere in between the extremes.</p>

<p>Lol in short, the workload.. is not for the faint of heart, and you can choose how much it affects you.
i myself, as the typical lazy teenager, spend the bare minimum on my work... and am still fairly content with my grades, and my education :] but was quite stressed, close to my limit, nearing the end of the year.</p>

<p>in my experience, it was my schedule that crushed my more than anything... as i put way too many responsibilities on myself, blocking me from pursuing a proper education... which will be fixed for next year, and i predict a much more stress-less year :]</p>

<p>sspixie, i'm sorry on behalf of the school that you had such an experience, especially sorry about your guide... there are many people like those you describe at the school, but i find that they seem to disappear when you start to choose who you spend your time with</p>

<p>lastly, regarding the idea of exeter having academic specialties...
i admit, my biggest disappointment was that our arts program was... not up to the standards i expected of exeter. most public hs i remember from back home do much better... except in dance maybe, especially breakdancing ^.^ [which i'm proud to say, our program is at least the best of all surrounding prep schools]
our strength does lie in math and science, but i feel like many of the other unique, miscellaneous courses were surprisingly comprehensive and accelerated</p>

15

<p>95% of alumni give money at Andover? That's an unheard of participation rate...... where is that info from?</p>

16

<p>The endowment difference isn't 6 million, it's 162 million.</p>

<p>"Exeter's endowment as of 7 December 2006 was $902 million.[2] This is the second-highest endowment of any American secondary school, behind the $7.7 billion endowment of Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii,[3] and ahead of the $730 million endowment of its traditional rival, Phillips Academy."</p>

<p>And that was half a year ago.</p>

17

<p>What kind of breaking program does Exeter have?</p>

18

<p>break dancing? haha.. they have videos on youtube i think.</p>

19

<p>ahhhh the suspenseeeeeeeeeeeeee ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's just starting to hit me. i haven't been this excited since.. i don't know.</p>

20

<p>Blee, what you say about the large number of unhappy kids seems to me to be an anomoly among top schools. It seems to operate like lower tier schools from what you say: retaining kids that don't want to be there. It'say to friends and family this place isn't what I thought it would be. I also know about going to school with kids who don't want to be there.</p>

<p>Why do the kids from ASD seem so much happier with their schools? Someone called Exeter dark above and I kne what they meant.</p>